annual report 2016 | university of amsterdam 1 Annual Report 2016 uva.nl 2 annual report 2016 | university of amsterdam annual report 2016 | university of amsterdam 1 Annual Report 2016 University of Amsterdam 2 annual report 2016 | university of amsterdam Publication details Published by University of Amsterdam May 2017 Composition Strategy & Information Department Design April Design Cover photography Niké Dolman & Lisa Helder Photography AIAS | AMC | Andrea Kane | API | Bastiaan Aalbergsen | Bob Bronshoff | Bram Belloni | Carlos Fitzsimons | CLHC | Daan van Eijndhoven | David Cohen de Lara | Dirk Gillissen | DSM | Eduard Lampe | Faungg (Via Flickr) | FEB | Frank Linde | Free Press Media | GRAPPA | HIMS | Ingrid de Groot | Jan Willem Steenmeijer | Jeroen Oerlemans | KHMV | Liesbeth Dingemans | LinkedIn | Maarten van Haaff | Maartje Strijbis | Merijn Soeters | Judith van de Kamp | Monique Kooijmans | Nottingham Trent University | NTR | Rogier Fokke | RUG | Sander Nieuwenhuys | Sacha Epskamp | Stefan Pickee | Suzanne Blanchard | Teska Overbeeke | Ties Korstanje | University of Melbourne | Ursula Jernberg | VU Information University of Amsterdam Communications Office Postbus 19268 1000 GG Amsterdam +31 (0)20-525 2929 www.uva.nl No rights can be derived from the content of this Annual Report. © Universiteit van Amsterdam Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to provide an accurate translation of the text. However, the official text is the Dutch text: any differences in the translation are not binding and have no legal effect. annual report 2016 | university of amsterdam 3 Contents 5 a. Foreword by the Executive Board 7 b. Key data 9 c. Message from the Supervisory Board 14 d. Members of the Executive Board and the Supervisory Board 15 e. Faculty deans and directors of the organisational units 16 f. Details of the legal entity 17 g. Glossary of abbreviations 20 1. Administration 30 2. Education 38 3. Research 44 4. Innovation 50 5. Human resources policy 56 6. Sustainability 64 7. Financial report 74 8. Accommodations Plan and financing 78 9. Continuity 84 10. Risks the executive board From left to right: Kees van Ast (interim member), Prof. Karen Maex (Rector Magnificus and Vice-President) and Prof. Geert ten Dam (President) annual report 2016 | university of amsterdam 5 a. Foreword by the Executive Board Many of the names in this annual report will have changed since last year. The composition of the Supervisory Board and Executive Board has changed, while various deans have rotated their positions. However, the annual report also reflects a high degree of continuity, in terms of both our continued excellent performance in the area of education and research and our operational management and finances. This is a testament to the UvA’s inherent strength as an organisation: despite a period of changes and administrative reshuffles, we have managed to maintain stability and continue to offer room for innovation and improvement. In 2016, the number of enrolled students grew to over 31,000 and intake levels at our Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes rose by over 10%. Furthermore, the number of doctorates conferred was higher than ever, at a total of 546, and a large number of UvA researchers received grants from the NWO and ERC. Naturally, we are extremely proud of all UvA grant winners. We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate them, with a special mention for Bruno Verschuere, winner of an Ig Nobel Prize. Our congratulations also go out to anthropologist Anita Hardon, political communication scientist Claes de Vreese and high-energy physicist Frank Linde, who were all appointed members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). Along with Peter Sloot, Anita Hardon was one of the founders behind the UvA Institute for Advanced Study, an important impetus for innovative interdisciplinary research. The UvA owes a great debt of gratitude to Dymph van den Boom. Many of the speakers at her official retirement as Rector Magnificus and acting president characterised her as a ‘dependable force’. Under her leadership over the past nine years, the UvA has successfully improved the quality of its education and research. Our gratitude also goes out to Hans Amman, who was responsible for further strengthening our finances and ensuring greater financial transparency during his tenure as vice-president of the Executive Board until late 2016. Amman was also the driving force behind the fast-track evaluation of our collaboration with the AUAS. We would also like to thank Lianne Schmidt for her intensive involvement in the process of establishing the new position of student assessor, and Vice-Rector Edgar du Perron for his efforts to coordinate the reform agenda. Finally, our thanks go out to the members of the Supervisory Board, who showed great commitment in ensuring administrative continuity despite complex circumstances. Three committees were established in response to the 2015 protests and each of these bodies submitted reports over the course of 2016. The UvA will use the findings in these reports to its benefit, in order to achieve improvements in the area of finances, diversity and democratisation. This annual report will focus on this aspect in depth, as well as the implementation of the ten-point plan, the expiration of performance agreements with the Ministry, the Talent for Innovation programmes conducted in collaboration with the AUAS and VU University Amsterdam and subsidised by the city of Amsterdam, the launch of the UvA Institute for Advanced Study, the development of joint doctorates, the steep rise in the number of international students and accountability for pre-investments in student loans. Naturally, the annual report also features various financial data and the Annual Statement of Accounts, which all offer a positive outlook. In financial terms, 2016 proved to be another solid year, with a profit and loss that exceeded budget prognoses by €10 million at group level. Equity grew to €277 million, while solvency increased to around 40%. The university’s societal role has been the subject of growing debate over the past few years. To whom does the university belong, which role should the university play in broader society, and which forms of accountability will this involve? The UvA is also having to deal with the various associated dilemmas, as it works to strike a balance between accessibility and effective profiling, between academic freedom and professional responsibility, between further internationalisation and language policy, between the strengthening of disciplines and interdisciplinarity and between common 6 annual report 2016 | university of amsterdam choices and decentralised autonomy. The debate on these issues will inevitably find its way into discussions on communicative supervision and potential adaptations of the Strategic Plan, one of our key priorities for the coming year. The development of a strong and social human resources policy will be another key priority. Efforts to this end were initiated in late 2016, and are set to be continued in 2017 through further improvement of our strategic personnel planning and a focus on work pressure and greater job security. Our career model should be based on the principle that education and research are valued equally. Finally, innovation and improvement of our education and research will remain high on our list of priorities. The same applies to the issue of internationalisation, with a special focus on the establishment of international classrooms. This should offer a basis to further develop the academic community over the coming years together with our staff and students. Amsterdam, 22 May 2017 The Executive Board Geert ten Dam, president Karen Maex, Rector Magnificus and vice-president Kees van Ast, member ad interim Notes on this annual report The UvA Annual Report has evolved into an increasingly comprehensive but also expansive document since 2010, offering accountability and information on the University’s policies and results. With the annual report for 2013, the UvA won the last Kordestrofee award to be issued for best annual report in the education sector. However, developments have caught up with us and the informative function of the annual report increasingly overlaps with the publicly available information featured on the UvA website. In 2015, the UvA published an extensive Facts and figures function on its website. Furthermore, in late 2016, the intranet section of our website was enriched with UvAdata Monitors as a part of the commitment to greater transparency outlined in our ten-point plan of March 2015. As such, all students and staff members can now independently access a broad range of information and fine-tune the results for their own unit or degree programme. The Ministry of Education Culture and Science also takes the view that significant portions of our annual report can be replaced by more current and detailed information on the website. As a result, the formal annual report can now be limited to the most relevant issues in terms of providing administrative accountability over the year in question to direct internal and external stakeholders. annual report 2016 | university of amsterdam 7 b. Key data 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Enrolled students Total number of students enrolled at the UvA 29,873 31,123 31,186 30,611 31,019 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Intake of students enrolled in the first year of a degree programme at the institution (as at 1 October) Bachelor’s intake 6,003 6,685 6,019 5,364 6,594 Pre-Master’s